“I have 2 old German’s planted for about 40 days, they are approx 3′ tall , look healthy as can be BUT the buds stem and all wilt and drop off? The leaves around them wilt also, any suggestions?”

Hello Andy. If it was just the blossoms I would be inclined to saythat it was a case of blossom drop, but it sounds like something else when the leaves are wilting too.

Have you noticed any spots or discolorations on the wilting parts?

There are some wilts that can affect tomato plants, but most have rings
or spots of some kind, along with abnormal colors.

Check out this article about Tomato Wilt Problems from the University of Tennessee Extension service. If none of those match, send us a picture so we can see what’s going on a bit better. I hope it clears up soon!

“How do you keep a tomato plant from growing up in an upside down tomato?”

Another reader asks:

“I am trying out the upside down tomato planters for the first time. Both of my plants (Mountain Pride) are yellowing and curling upwards towards the root. Any advice?”

Hi. This is likely due to a phenomenon called tropism. A tropism is a factor in plants where they move or grow in response to the environment around them. Phototropism occurs when plants move towards a light source.

When tomato plants are first planted upside down, the planter is often in the way of the direct sunlight. The plant will start growing upwards to reach towards the light, so it can still photosynthesize.

There’s also another tropism in effect: gravitropism. Plants respond to gravity in that the roots grow downwards (toward gravity) and stems grow upwards (away from gravity). They may hang down more as the tomatoes form on the plants. Read the rest of this entry »

Growing tomato plants need about 2 inches of water each week to thrive.

In an ideal world, this would be provided by Mother Nature in the form of rainfall, and indeed it sometimes is.

But what happens when it’s not?

When your tomatoes are thirsty and Mama doesn’t deliver, you’ll probably need to provide each plant with several gallons of water every few days. The simplest way to do this is with a good, Read the rest of this entry »